Environment

Civil engineering scholars have created a method that uses solar energy to accelerate pond reclamation efforts by industry and that means cleaning up oil sands tailings could be a lot greener. Instead of using UV lamps as a light source to treat oil sands process affected water (OSPW) retained in tailings ponds, University of Alberta  professors Mohamed Gamal El-Din and James Bolton have found that using the sunlight as a renewable energy source treats the wastewater just as efficiently but at a much lower cost.  Oilsands tailings ponds contain a mixture of suspended solids, salts,…

Khabarovsk Krai, a territory occupying the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, is on fire. Dozens of red hotspots, accompanied by plumes of smoke mark active fires. The smoke, which appears mostly white or grey, blows to the east towards the Sea of Okhotsk. Taiga and tundra are found in the north of this area, swampy forest inhabit the central depression, and deciduous forests are the natural vegetation in the south. While large wildfires are common in Russia in the summer, the 2014 wildfire season appears to be more intense than usual. According to Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency, some 12,600…

There are few things as spectacular as flying into Pennsylvania in the autumn. The myriad vibrant colors in the trees inspire people to take jaunts into the countryside.  That will still happen in the future, it may just come later next century, according to new research, because climate change could postpone fall leaf peeping in some areas of the United States as summer temperatures linger later into the year. The paper birch, a popular foliage tree that is the state tree of New Hampshire, could change color one to three weeks later by the end of the century, Princeton researchers…

It's no secret how Africa can feed itself - grow more food. That sort of naïve statement is fine for environmentalists who were born as part of the  Agricultural 1%, but it falls apart in the real world that exists outside fundraising campaigns. A large chunk of Africa doesn't grow food all that well, which historically has meant relying on the patronage of rich countries and cycles of famine - but that also has made it a political football. As a young man I was inspired by Bob Geldof - he is a liberal of the Norm Borlaug mold, as opposed to its modern progressive social authoritarian…

Over half of the Earth's accessible agricultural land is already under cultivation because ecological factors such as climate, soil quality, water supply and topography determined the suitability of land for agriculture when people had to just find the best spots. There are various knobs turning for the future of food. Science has made it possible for food to be grown with less environmental strain in more and more areas but climate change may impact global agriculture. Some regions may actually benefit from a game-changing event, of course. In a new study, researchers focused on…

Fires, mudslides and earthquakes are part of California life but residents might be wishing for a few more mudslides right about now. The temperature is nothing special but the worst drought in 20 years and dry lightning have meant an abundance of forest fires. On August 12th, lightning struck and started a fire that grew into the Happy Camp Complex. Currently over 113,000 acres have been affected and the fire is only 55% contained as of today. Strong winds tested fire lines yesterday (8/15), and are expected to do so again today. Despite the high winds, existing fire lines held with no…

Researchers have discovered "the most famous wheat gene," a reproductive traffic cop of sorts that can be used to transfer valuable genes from other plants to wheat, which clears the way for wheat varieties with disease- and pest-resistance traits of other grasses. Though it would be genetic modification, because of precise legal definitions that ban some genetic optimization but allow mutagenesis and other older forms of genetic modification, it would not have the same regulatory hurdles and controversy of modern GMOs. For some 35 million years, the wild ancestors of wheat routinely traded…

Around 3,000 farmers work 6,000 hectares in Veracruz, the west coast of Mexico, to grow potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). In recent decades, the fields of the Cofre de Perote area were affected by the presence of the golden nematode of potatoes (Globodera rostochiensis), also known as the yellow potato cyst nematode, a devastating plant pathogen, which reduced crop yields by more than 40 percent, leading to loss of income, loss of food and greater environmental strain due to making up the gap. According to records of the Institute of Ecology (INECOL) in Mexico, there were 6,000 cysts per kilogram…

Modern genetic modification, where biologists cause a plant to express a natural protein taken from another plant that wards off pests, is protested by environmental groups and organic farmers. Organic farmers will spray Bt on their plants, while calling them organic food, yet the same food that expresses Bt naturally, like many plants do, is a Frankenfood. It's the protein expression, they insist. There may be a compromise between the world of science - and not letting poor people die - and activism. If protein expression is the problem, don't code for proteins. Non-coding RNA (ncRNA)…

The Common Blue butterfly is a pollinator that plays a vital role in maintaining food supplies but it is struggling in the UK countryside.  While environmental fundraising corporations try to spin bee numbers to create concern among the public about modern neonicotinoid pesticides, what gets no attention is that 98% of the country's flower-rich meadows have been lost since the end of the Second World War. Yet apples, strawberries, raspberries, beans and tomatoes are all reliant on insect pollinators like butterflies. Globally, crop pollination services are estimated to be worth $153…